


The Start of The Dream

by aphelant



Series: there where beauty is existence [3]
Category: Hockey RPF
Genre: (mentions of past) Abusive Relationships, (mentions of past) Domestic Abuse, Alternate Universe - Flower Shop, Alternate Universe - Tattoo Artist, M/M, i feel like i’ve gotten away from the whole point of these stories a little, this story is even less happy than the last one but it has a happy ending, victoria fic
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-06-14
Updated: 2017-06-14
Packaged: 2018-11-14 05:18:26
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 7,638
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/11201265
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/aphelant/pseuds/aphelant
Summary: "I thought we weren't talking about this," Jamie tries. Matty shrugs."We don't have to," Matty says, "but I wanted to make sure you know that I can keep a secret. If there's a secret to keep.""Of course," Jamie reassures him, but Matty doesn't budge. "It's not. Like. I mean, um.""Okay," Matty says with a laugh, "so it's a boy then, yes?"





	The Start of The Dream

**Author's Note:**

  * For [abbylee](https://archiveofourown.org/users/abbylee/gifts).



> I still don’t know anything about being a florist, or a tattoo artist. Or an arts major. Or a business major? Or being self-employed… You know what, just assume I don’t know anything. :) I’m pretty sure the only things I successfully researched were dog toys and cemeteries, which is absolutely unsurprising tbh.
> 
> Thanks to Pennyplainknits for looking this over for me. All mistakes are mine.
> 
> Title from No Cars Go by Arcade Fire.

Mattias eyes Jamie suspiciously when, for the first time in the seven months Matty has worked for him, Jamie slips out of the shop during lunch. He timed it so that Matty was busy with a customer and couldn't ask any questions, but he's sure the story will get dragged out of him before the end of the day. 

Truthfully, he doesn't mind telling Matty -- Jamie likes him, he's a good kid, and Jamie's not the kind of person to keep such strict employer/employee boundaries that they can't or don't talk about their personal lives -- he just doesn't want Matty gossiping about it with any of their mutual acquaintances.

In other words, if Jamie tells Matty about Tyler, it's possible that word will get back to Jordie, and that would be The Worst. It isn’t like Jamie wouldn’t tell Jordie eventually, just...not yet. Soon. Probably.

If Jamie brings fancy coffees back to the shop, he's sure he can bribe Matty into silence. Thinking about a frappuccino is why Jamie's not paying attention when he walks into the pet shop.

"Hello!" greets an enthusiastic voice, and Jamie's head snaps up.

"Oh," he replies. "Um."

Antoine, who lives down the hall in Jamie's condo complex, is leaning against the customer side of the counter. The shop clerk, a woman their age with a Haida tattoo peeking out from the top of her shirt and wearing her glossy black hair tied back in a braid-threaded ponytail, smirks at Jamie. Clearly she's familiar with Antoine's effect on shy people. 

"Charlotte, this is my neighbour," Antoine tells the clerk, who raises an interested eyebrow. "He refuses to adopt any of my cats, yet here he is in a store where you buy things for them. Are you warming up to the idea, Jamie? I've got a new friend coming next week, I think, if you'd like to meet her."

Jamie does not, in fact, want to meet any of Antoine's new foster cats. The one and only time he tried to be friendly and went over to say hello to the kittens Antoine was fostering from the Humane Society, he had to check his pockets for contraband cats three times before he left because Antoine was so convinced that owning a cat would 'enrichen his life' that Jamie was worried Antoine had stowed one away in his jacket. All he found was a mint and eleven cents, which was annoying in itself because now he had a penny that he had to figure out what to do with.

"No thank you," Jamie says, eventually remembering his manners. Antoine shrugs peaceably, but Jamie can feel his interested gaze as he pokes around looking at dog things.

Charlotte chats with Antoine for another minute, letting Jamie browse on his own, before coming over and asking if he needs help finding anything.

"I'm meeting a friend's dogs today and I wanted to bring them something, but I don't really know anything about dogs?" Luckily, Charlotte does, it being her job and all, and after Jamie describes them to her from the pictures Tyler showed him, she shows him the toys for larger dogs. Since they're heading to a park, Jamie settles on a ball launcher. Playing catch is definitely an activity that Jamie can handle.

He takes his purchase to the counter, where Antoine doesn't even move over, grinning insouciantly when Jamie's shoulders creep up from trying not to crowd into Antoine's space. 

"Soooo," Antoine says, taking the toy from Charlotte after she rings it in. "You're meeting a 'friend's' dogs, hey? Is this friend a boy? Is he handsome?"

"I'm looking for somewhere new to live," Jamie says conversationally to Charlotte, a little bite in his tone, "do you know anyone selling?"

Charlotte laughs and Antoine scoffs at them both. "I'm a great neighbour," he argues. "Any time you want to play with a cat you can knock on my door. _And_ I give the best hugs."

"Debatable," Charlotte says drily. Antoine mimes getting shot in the chest.

"Okay, well" Jamie says to Charlotte, grabbing his bag and attempting his escape, "thanks for your help, I'm sure they'll love this."

He practically runs out of the shop, but still catches Antoine's voice calling out, "I'm getting a tortoiseshell! Her name is Rose!" before the door tinkles shut behind him.

On the way back to the shop he does, in fact, pick up that Starbucks he’d been fantasizing about, and hands one Frapp over to a suspicious Matty when he arrives. Jamie hides his pet shop bag under his desk in the back of the shop. When he comes back out, Matty eyes him over his drink, which he's slurping up in record time.

"You're doing the funeral wreath," Matty tells him, a bargain of sorts, because they both know Jamie would rather make depressing flower arrangements than talk about his feelings any day of the week.

"Yeah, okay," Jamie says instead of thank you. Matty just nods and heads out into the shop. He's a good kid, and Jamie's glad he hired him.

At least he will be until Matty stops letting him get away with turtling. Hopefully he won't have to look for new help for, like, at least a week.

****

Jamie does his usual routine to lock up, but Matty doesn't. "Okay, I've got it from here, good work today, man," Jamie says, but Matty doesn't say, "Cool, see you tomorrow," and disappear out the back door like normal. Instead he tags along with Jamie as he checks over the store and follows Jamie out, watching keenly as Jamie locks the door behind them.

"Um, okay, good night," Jamie says, but Matty still doesn't leave. Instead he glances at the bag in Jamie's hand and gives him a questioning look.

"I thought we weren't talking about this," Jamie tries. Matty shrugs.

"We don't have to," Matty says, "but I wanted to make sure you know that I can keep a secret. If there's a secret to keep."

"Of course," Jamie reassures him, but Matty doesn't budge. "It's not. Like. I mean, um."

"Okay," Matty says with a laugh, "so it's a boy then, yes?"

Jamie feels himself turning red, skin hot and uncomfortable. "Yeah," he sighs, giving in with a shrug, and Matty laughs again.

"You should bring him around the shop sometime," Matty tells him. After Jamie’s admission he finally seems ready to go, hitching his backpack higher and checking his pockets for his bus pass. "I won't scare him away, I promise."

"Sure," Jamie says noncommittally. Matty rolls his eyes. "No, I will. This is only our second date. Third, I mean."

Matty pauses at this, but apparently decides to ignore Jamie's confusion about how long he's been seeing Tyler. He looks like he wants to laugh at Jamie, honestly, but because he's a kind person he doesn't, so maybe instead of replacing him Jamie should give him a raise.

"Okay, well enjoy your second-maybe-third date with your mystery boy. I'll see you on Wednesday." With that Matty takes off, waving over his shoulder as he heads down the sidewalk. 

Jamie sighs, relieved, then realizes he's still got a date to survive tonight so he shouldn't relax just yet. He jogs to his car, tossing his bag into the trunk and his purchase into the passenger seat before getting behind the wheel.

_**just leaving now, see you soon :)**_ is what he sends off to Tyler before pulling away from the curb.

It doesn't take Jamie long to get to Mile One, finding a nearby parking spot easily. He digs a pocket knife out from the glove compartment so he can open the dog toy, and when he's finished he puts all the packaging into the shopping bag, ties it off and tosses it between the seats into the back somewhere.

Jamie's phone buzzes from where he’d thrown it onto the console. 

_**we're here! c u soon**_ (Face Throwing A Kiss )

There's surely a blush on Jamie's cheeks, but he doesn't check himself in the mirror. Instead he scrambles out of the car and jogs to the Mile One sign. 

He spots Tyler immediately, the long lines of his legs and the curve of his shoulders when he bends over to pet his dogs is unmistakable. While he watches, Tyler tussles with the mostly-grown puppy and, while it's distracted trying to gnaw on Tyler's hand, reaches out to give an affectionate stroke to the snout of the brown dog at his feet.

"Hey," Jamie greets awkwardly when he's close enough to be heard, and the blinding grin Tyler turns on him makes his breath catch.

"Jamie," Tyler replies, voice soft and sweet. Jamie's never wanted to kiss him more, but the moment is swiftly broken by an enthusiastic dog crowding into his knees.

A large black head bumps up into Jamie's hand, and right, he's meant to be making a good impression on Tyler's kids. "Hey buddy," Jamie says, giving the friendly dog the rubbing he was looking for. "Uh, which one is this again?"

"That's Cash," Tyler tells him. He sits down on the grass and hugs the brown dog. "And this lazy one here is Marshall."

"Nice to meet you, Cash," Jamie says to the dog, because even though Cash is trying to bowl him over, Jamie was raised to be polite. "Do you want to play fetch?"

He pulls the ball thrower out from where he'd jammed the handle into his back pocket. Tyler gets up, and so does Marshall, tail wagging in mounting enthusiasm. 

They play fetch with the boys for a while, taking turns with the plastic arm, and later, once Marshall is worn out and content to lie on the grass between them, just toss the ball back and forth, letting Cash run around trying to catch it before they can.

By the time Cash is more interested in finding a place to relieve himself than chasing the ball, Jamie's sweaty and tired and his arms are sore, but he feels lit up inside from the company, and maybe a little bit from the glow of Tyler's smile, so he doesn't mind any of the rest of it. He joins Marshall in lying on the grass while Tyler takes Cash for a short walk. 

A heavy brown head rests on Jamie's shoulder, gentle and sweet, and Jamie pets Marshall down the line of his back until the dog is a long puddle curled into Jamie's side.

Tyler finds them like that, sprawled out together on the grass. Something devastating flashes on Tyler's face for a moment and Jamie sits up in alarm. Marshall grunts and rolls over, ignoring the humans to paw in annoyance at Cash for his sudden affectionate snuffling. 

"What's wrong?" Jamie asks, but Tyler puts on a smile -- and they may not have known each other for long, but Jamie can immediately tell it isn't genuine -- and promises, "Nothing, everything's fine," even though it obviously isn't.

Jamie tugs Tyler down to the grass too and hugs him. Tyler's stiff at first, but after a moment goes loose and pliant in Jamie's arms, almost like his strings have been cut. He settles easily between Jamie's legs, back tucked against Jamie's front.

They sit quietly like that for a while, watching the dogs roll around and just enjoying being close to each other. One of Tyler's hands rests on Jamie's, idly stroking his thumb across the vulnerable part of Jamie's wrist, and every time it brushes against his pulse point Jamie shivers. There's no way Tyler doesn't know what he's doing to Jamie, not with the way they're pressed together, and the longer it goes on the more Jamie yearns, until finally he can't take it anymore and breaks.

"Tyler," he whispers, knowing he sounds as desperate as he feels, and at the shudder that goes through Tyler at Jamie's voice, he isn't the only one here who's feeling this way.

"Do you want to come back to my place?" Tyler asks then, shyly. He sends a hesitant glance over his shoulder at Jamie, and Jamie knows he said he wouldn't, he promised himself that he wasn’t going to give in to the desire to move too quickly with Tyler, that he was going to try to do things _right_ , but...

Tyler is fragile in Jamie's arms, soft and broken and _wanting_ and Jamie finds that he doesn't want to say no. 

"Yes," Jamie says, and presses a simple kiss to the back of Tyler’s neck. "Yes, I want to go home with you."

****

Walking into Tyler's house, Jamie thinks, is his first real glimpse into Tyler’s life. There’s a large, well-used couch, soft and black, likely a college-era holdover that no one was ready to part with yet; a coffee table littered in beer bottles and a few remotes for the entertainment unit; a basket full of dog toys tucked away in a corner, because Tyler's the kind of dad who makes sure the kids don't leave a mess after play time.

The walls are adorned with framed degrees with someone else's last name, as well as hand drawn pictures, some tattoo designs, some that look like they may have been commissions or, hell, even college projects. Jamie has no idea what fine arts majors do but given Tyler's skillset it makes sense that at least some of these are his.

"Your roommate?" Jamie asks, pointing at one of the business degrees. 

Tyler looks up from where he's pouring kibble into bowls for the dogs. "Yeah, those are Brownie's. You'll like him, he's the best bro ever." He grins at Jamie. "And, thankfully, also way smarter than me," he adds, and while there’s an obvious tease to the self-deprecation, it ruffles Jamie's feathers.

"You're not dumb," Jamie argues, and Tyler agrees easily.

"No, I just mean that like, he's got his shit together, you know? He finished school, he's got a job that can, like, actually pay the bills." He bites his lip, hesitant, before admitting, "I dropped out in my second year, and I'd have had to go back home if Brownie hadn't let me live with him. I can barely pay him any rent, either. So I learned how to cook and stuff, gotta make him a good wifey so he doesn't regret letting me live here, eh?"

Tyler takes one look at the expression on Jamie's face and sighs. "Sorry, I'm probably making him sound like he's taking advantage of me or something." He busies himself with putting away the bucket of kibble under the sink, and Jamie waits as patiently as he can while Tyler gathers his thoughts. 

"Brownie always tells me I don't owe him anything," Tyler says, "but I guess I just...really feel like I do? We all know this isn't an equal living arrangement, right? So I, like, do more things around the house since I can't pay the bills. I'm home more anyway, so it makes sense. My work hours are pretty irregular."

Marshall bumps affectionately into Tyler's legs, thanking him for the meal, maybe, before trotting past Jamie and flopping down in front of the door, enjoying the slight autumn breeze coming in from the opened screen. 

"And um," Tyler begins to say, but quickly stops, looking sad and frightened for a moment. He picks at a cuticle, then blinks at his hands, shakes them, and tucks them into his back pockets. "Uh, when I say if it weren't for him I'd have had to move back to Toronto, what I mean is, like...if it weren't for him I'd probably have been on the street because, uh, I was too stupid to want to go back home. 

"And it's not that it's bad there!" Tyler's quick to clarify. "My mom is great, she would have flown me back home, no questions asked. And I love my sisters a lot, they’re the best. But uh, I kind of ran away? To be with my boyfriend? Who turned out to be really, really shitty, and it got, uh, really bad with him?"

That Tyler had a shitty boyfriend isn’t exactly news to Jamie, who’s read between some of Tyler’s lines, but the stress in Tyler’s voice and body when he talks about it makes Jamie feel hot with anger, his face surely flushed from it, and his clenched hands are numb and clammy just from thinking about some asshole hurting Tyler and doing whatever it was that makes Tyler so skittish and ashamed, even now. He knows it’s not his place — it’s so not his place it’s practically on another _planet_ — but Jamie has the almost overwhelming urge to find this guy so he can make sure he never hurts Tyler, or anyone else, ever again.

"I couldn't go home," Tyler continues, voice raw and eyes squeezed tightly shut, "or it felt like I couldn't go home, at least. So I was like, stuck there, and didn't know what to do, until Brownie came over one day and helped me pack a bag and gave me his spare room and screened all my calls for a month until I was able to do it myself. Brownie's just - he's the best friend I've ever had and I owe him a lot." He blinks his eyes open, and they stare at each other across the kitchen. "That's all," he finishes tremulously, and gives Jamie a helpless little shrug.

"Tyler," Jamie whispers, tentative to wade into the mood Tyler's confession created, but the unshed tears in Tyler's eyes are too painful for him to look at, and the distance between them is unbearable. "Come here?"

Tyler goes easily when Jamie reaches out and pulls him in for a hug. He clutches at the back of Jamie's shirt, and Jamie presses his cheek to the top of Tyler's head, taking comfort in knowing that Tyler's here and safe and that if Jamie ever did anything to hurt Tyler that he's got someone to protect him.

"Thank you for telling me," he ducks down to say into Tyler's ear. 

"Thank you for listening," Tyler replies. He pulls away only far enough to press a kiss to Jamie's cheek, looking away shyly afterwards.

"Um, so now that I've cried all over you," Tyler says sheepishly, "do you still want to stay? I can make spaghetti?"

Jamie laughs, says, "Yeah, I still want to stay," and asks, "What can I help with?"

So Tyler puts Jamie to work chopping some vegetables because Tyler apparently prefers making tomato sauce from scratch. "See? Wifey," Tyler tells him with a wink, and Jamie laughs at it because now he understands how much pride Tyler takes in the title he’s given himself.

They eat their meal sitting pressed up against each other on the couch, which is exactly as comfortable as it had looked, and afterwards they watch Live Free, Die Hard on Netflix. Luckily, Jamie's seen it before, so he can spend as much time as he likes looking at Tyler and thinking about how warm he is and how nice it feels to hold Tyler's hand in his own and still be able to answer Tyler's questions about what's going on in the plot and what show is that guy from and --

"Do you think a jet could really take out a highway like that? Seems over the top."

"I dunno, maybe," Jamie replies.

"Maybe what? That it could take out a highway or that it's over the top?"

Tyler sounds really amused. Jamie's busted.

"Uhhhhh," he starts, but then laughs at himself. "No, I have no idea."

"Are you even watching?" Tyler giggles, jamming an elbow into Jamie's side.

"Yeah," Jamie says, voice dark even to his own ears. "I’m watching." 

Tyler turns and Jamie sees his attention stopping on Jamie's mouth as he licks his lips. He hears Tyler's breath catch, an instant before their eyes meet, and the next thing Jamie knows he has Tyler's mouth on his own and Tyler is surging up, arms going around Jamie's shoulders, pulling himself over into Jamie's lap.

"Hi," Tyler whispers when they're nose to nose. "Wanna make out with me?"

"Hmm," Jamie says, pretending he needs to be convinced. Tyler gently puts his teeth to Jamie's jaw, like a puppy, making Jamie giggle. "What, if I won't kiss you, you'll eat me? Is that it?"

"Maybe," Tyler teases, sharply nipping his throat this time. Jamie grunts in surprise and can't help the way his hips jump up into Tyler's

The smirk Tyler gives him is dirty. "You like it a little rough?" Tyler asks. He catches Jamie's lower lip between his teeth and doesn't let go. All the blood in Jamie's body heads south and he can't be held responsible for the noise he makes.

Which is why when Marshall gets up and barks at them, and Cash comes crashing protectively in between Tyler and Jamie so suddenly that Tyler is dumped unceremoniously to the floor, Jamie has no problem blaming the whole thing on Tyler.

"Oh fuck," Tyler wheezes from somewhere down near Jamie's feet. He'd like to help Tyler, but he's got to deal with Cash licking Jamie all over his face, making sure he's not hurt, he thinks. 

"I'm okay, buddy," Jamie tells him. "Go check on your dad."

Cash obediently hops down off the couch and clambers all over Tyler judging by the pained sounds Tyler makes. Marshall sits next to the melee and pants down into Tyler's face. Jamie takes a moment to adjust himself in his pants.

"I think that killed the mood," Tyler wheezes once he's got himself upright. He leans against Jamie's leg and tilts his head into the hand Jamie runs through his hair.

"Yeah," Jamie agrees. "I don't want to leave though, if that's okay?"

Tyler tips his head back and smiles shyly up at Jamie. "That's more than okay. We could, like, cuddle? In bed? Only if you want."

Jamie imagines holding Tyler close, huddled together beneath warm covers, and then waking up in the morning with Tyler still in his arms, quiet and soft. It's an easy decision after that to say, "I do want. Where's your room?"

Scrambling to his feet, Tyler knocks into the coffee table and their collection of beer bottles nearly topple over. They swiftly catch them up, though, and pour out the dregs before disposing of them in the bin under the sink. Tyler takes Jamie by the hand then and leads him on a more thorough tour of the house, up a flight of stairs that doubles back on itself and down a short hall of closed doors until Tyler stops in front of an open doorway.

"This is me," he says, unnecessarily. "Come on in." Jamie follows behind him, taking in the rumpled but made up bed, the open sketchbook and scattering of pencils stopped up on the ledge of a draft table, the lone long dresser, and the way the blinds are lifted and the curtains pushed all the way over, revealing a view that's full of the dark evening sky and, in tiny glimpses, a little bit of glitter from the ocean.

"Wow, I didn't think you'd be able to see the shore from here," Jamie comments. He moves closer to the window so he can see even more of the view outside. Tyler leans against his back, hooking his chin over Jamie's shoulder, and points out a strip of grass peeking out beyond the last row of houses. 

"That's the dog park right there," Tyler says. His breath is warm on Jamie's neck. "I don't wanna know how much this house costs, honestly."

"No kidding," Jamie laughs. "Brownie bought this himself?"

"Heavily financed by selling his share in a successful start up. I told you, he's smart." Jamie feels Tyler tug down the collar of his shirt, exposing the nape of his neck, and then Tyler rubs his mouth along the skin there, causing Jamie to shiver. "Come on, let's get dressed for bed."

It hadn't occurred to him that 'just sleeping' with Tyler would still involve changing clothes and therefore exposing to each other more of their bodies than they've previously seen before. Jamie feels stupid now, because he's unexpectedly found himself looking at Tyler's bare back, at the sharpness of his shoulder blades and the curls of tattoos that wrap around his ribs. Suddenly his thoughts have all frozen, stuck on all that _skin_.

"Oh," Tyler says, turning around. He's frowning slightly, probably thinking Jamie's a massive creeper staring at him the way he is, but instead he just turns back around and starts digging in one of his dresser drawers. He pulls out a t-shirt with a small noise of triumph. "I think this will fit you," he says, tossing it over. 

Jamie barely manages to catch it in his numb hands, and somehow succeeds in undoing the buttons of his own shirt. Once he’s removed it Tyler takes it from him and drapes it over his drafting chair, but when Jamie pulls off his undershirt, instead of taking that from him, too, Tyler makes an interested noise and puts his hands on Jamie's chest.

"Virgin skin?" he mutters, running his palms across Jamie's chest and down his stomach, not stopping until they rest hooked into the waist of Jamie's pants. Tyler smirks challengingly at him as he thumbs open the button, like this is some kind of sex chicken, but Jamie's certainly not going to stop him. 

"Am I going to find anything interesting in here?" Tyler teases. "No tattoos up top, but maybe you've got...a Prince Albert?"

Tyler snakes his hand down into Jamie's pants to take a firm grip on his dick through his underwear. Jamie nearly chokes on his tongue, but Tyler pays him no mind, continuing to curiously massage his thumb around the head, thoroughly inspecting it. "Hmm, nope, no piercings here," he declares.

"Tyler," Jamie warns, but his words are quickly muffled by Tyler's mouth, hot and open on his own.

"You're so fucking hot," Tyler says into their kiss. Jamie appreciates the compliment, and tries to repay it by feeling Tyler up. He gropes up Tyler’s arms, digging his fingers into the meat of Tyler’s muscles and scraping the pads of his fingers across his various tattoos. Some of them, the less-artistic, less-thoughtful ones, rise up out of Tyler’s skin like braille. Jamie can’t read their stories, but he hopes one day Tyler tells him about where they came from and what they mean. 

The newer, crisper tattoos are smooth to the touch, carefully outlined and delicately coloured in. Jamie wants to know their stories, too, but for now he’s content to touch them with his hands, his mouth, his teeth and tongue. Tyler gasps when Jamie sucks a mark into a blank space on Tyler’s shoulder, but it’s Jamie's hands sliding down Tyler’s back and resting on his waist that’s somehow his breaking point, making Tyler whine, "Jamie, I want you on me so bad."

Jamie wants that, too, is fairly burning up with the want of it, but they’ve gone from zero to sixty again and Jamie needs to dial it back before they rev it up higher than they wanted to go tonight. Tyler yelps in surprise when Jamie suddenly takes a firm grip under his thighs and lifts him up. Laughing, Tyler wraps his legs loosely around Jamie's waist, grinning down at him from above while Jamie walks them closer to the bed. 

At least, until Jamie tosses Tyler onto the bed. He looks shocked for a moment before bursting out into helpless giggles. 

"Holy shit," Tyler gasps, struggling to catch his breath. He teases, "Wow, how much can you lift? Look at these arms," and runs his hands over Jamie's shoulders and biceps, which flex as Jamie crawls over top of him.

"Look at me? Look at _you_." Jamie slaps a palm down on Tyler's ridiculous abs, making Tyler giggle again. 

"Yeah, what can I say, I work hard for these," Tyler brags. 

They grin at each other stupidly until Jamie decides to make himself comfortable, settling down full body on top of Tyler. They just lie there holding each other for a while, the urgency of the previous moment worn off by all their laughter. Jamie's borrowed shirt has gotten lost somewhere in all the excitement, but Tyler doesn't seem to mind because his fingers roam idly back and forth across his bare skin.

"Have you ever thought about getting a tattoo?" Tyler asks. His hands span Jamie's shoulder blades like a suggestion before moving on, down Jamie's spine. "I think you'd look great with one. That's my professional opinion, by the way, not just because I think they're hot."

"Jordie and I talked about getting matching tattoos," Jamie admits. Off Tyler's quizzical noise, he adds, "My brother. He's two years older than me, and we've always been close, did everything together. After high school he started getting tattoos, and I wanted one too -- I was like, 16 though, so I couldn't, Mom would kill me -- but when I was old enough I just couldn't decide _what_ I wanted, you know? Jordie said we could get matching ones that said 'brothers' or something, but, uh." He peeks a look at Tyler, who's listening intently. "I don't know. Sounds like a 'Mom' tattoo, honestly."

Tyler laughs at that, but has a considering look on his face as he inspects the spray of freckles across the top of Jamie's shoulder. "It could be fun," he says eventually, "both of you having the same tattoo. You could make it an ambigram, so no matter which way you look at it you can read it. Like, always brothers, right?"

"Huh." Jamie likes the idea of that, a lot. "Can you show me what it would look like?"

"Yeah, of course," Tyler says. "There are ambigram generators if you just want an idea of it, to run it by your bro. And like, obviously I can hook you up if you guys decide you want it. I've done a few, you can take a look at my portfolio, or I can recommend somebody else if that's how you'd rather go."

"Nah, I trust you," Jamie tells him. "If we decide to get them I’d love to have you do it."

Tyler looks shyly satisfied. "Yeah? That's awesome, because honestly, I want first crack at all this," he says, slowly stroking the palm of his hand from where it was cupping the curve of Jamie's ass all the way up his bare back and resting around the back of Jamie's neck. He uses that grip to tilt Jamie's head up for a kiss, and they make out for a long while, long enough that they've sunk comfortably into each other. Eventually Tyler pulls away, pressing one last kiss to Jamie's eyelids, which have drifted closed and are loathe to open.

He ruffles the top of Jamie's hair and asks, "You gonna sleep like this, babe?"

"Mmhmm," Jamie hums into Tyler's shoulder. "Comfy."

"I gotta get up and turn the lights off," Tyler points out. Groaning, Jamie rolls over and lets Tyler out from underneath him. He still hasn't opened his eyes, but he hears the click of the lights, and then Tyler is tugging at Jamie's pants, which he's still wearing.

He rescues his phone from his pocket, then helps kick them off his ankles and watches with a half-slit gaze as Tyler tidies up their clothes, removes his own pants, and then climbs back onto the bed to join him. They maneuver themselves beneath the covers and, after a bit of rearrangement, settle into sleep spooning, with Tyler's back to Jamie's chest.

They make sure they both have their alarms set -- Tyler's dogs usually wake him up in the morning, but sometimes they get Brownie up instead so Tyler has to set an alarm anyway -- and after an exchange of quiet good nights they finally settle down and sleep.

****

In the morning, Jamie wakes to his alarm, alone. He blinks himself into consciousness for a minute before he realizes he hears noise downstairs, probably from the kitchen, and gets up to investigate.

Sure enough, downstairs he finds Tyler bopping around to something playing on his iPhone. The dogs are both sitting patiently nearby, watching as Tyler moves from stove to fridge to stove again, waiting for scraps, Jamie guesses.

Cash tilts his head and barks at Jamie, who freezes at the foot of the stairs; but it was just a friendly hello, it seems, because Cash has already turned back to his stove-side vigil.

Tyler turns at the noise, smiling fondly when Jamie greets him with an awkward wave. "Morning," Tyler replies. "I hope I didn't wake you?"

"No," Jamie assures him. "My alarm went off, I've got to be at work in an hour and a half. Um, are those omelettes?"

Tyler grins. "They'll be done soon. Want to make coffee?"

Coffee sounds amazing, and Jamie makes his way into the kitchen, saying good morning to both dogs before turning his attention to the coffee maker. Eventually he gets it working, and he and Tyler pull up stools to the bar to eat. 

"Did you sleep okay?" Tyler asks, a slight blush to his cheek. Jamie nods, feeling an answering blush blooming on his own face.

They talk a little about their days, Jamie telling Tyler about some of the little jobs he'll be doing this morning, Tyler describing the colour work he’s doing for a client’s second sitting.

Eventually they both finish their food and find themselves smiling dumbly at each other, but Tyler realizes that they’re both on schedules and he ushers Jamie back up the stairs, calling up after him, "Help yourself to a shower if you want one, and there are extra toothbrushes under the sink."

Jamie does take a quick shower, and he’s just peeling a toothbrush out of its plastic and cardboard cage when Tyler swans in. He busses a kiss to Jamie’s cheek, then fights him for the toothpaste. They end up brushing their teeth together side by side at the small vanity, catching each other’s eyes and exchanging foamy white grins. It’s so soft and domestic, Jamie never wants it to end, wants to have exactly this every day.

But Jamie has to leave for work, and so does Tyler, but tomorrow morning is still a blank slate.

Tyler bustles Jamie to the front door, where he’s packed up a satchel of sketch books and laid out Jamie’s jacket for him. He dons it, finds his keys in the pocket, and suddenly they’re both ready to leave, staring anxiously at each other.

"So," Tyler starts, but Jamie interrupts with, "When can I see you again?"

Tyler grins, his heart on display in the curve of his mouth and the scrunch of his nose. "Is tonight too soon?" he asks, pushing all up into Jamie's space, which Jamie welcomes. "I know we're trying to, like, take things slow, but…I kind of don't wanna?"

"Yeah," Jamie says. He ducks down to plant a swift kiss on Tyler's lips. "I mean, yeah, we're going slower than we could be, but this feels right. Right?"

Tyler bobbles his head, attention laser focussed on Jamie's mouth, which he leans up and kisses. Jamie doesn't want them to get distracted here, though, so he pulls back, much to Tyler's dismay. 

"Tonight's not too soon," Jamie assures him. "But I have a softball game." Tyler makes a disappointed noise, but, feeling brave, Jamie hedges, "You could come? It's at MacDonald Park. Both my siblings play on the team, though, in case that's a deal breaker and you aren't ready to meet them yet."

"Oh," Tyler says, sounding surprised but looking excited, too. "You want me to meet your family?" He hesitates for a moment, a crease appearing on his forehead. "You're sure? I don't want to pressure you. You can take it back, I won't be mad."

Jamie looks at him, really looks at him: at his messy hair; his wrinkled shirt covered in dog hair; the ink cascading down his arms, which are wrapped comfortably around Jamie's neck. Just yesterday Jamie was agonizing over the idea of Jordie finding out about Tyler, about a whirlwind romance that Jamie was half-convinced was ill-advised and would break his heart. But this morning, with a deeper understanding of who Tyler is, and in the face of their mutual, irrepressible feelings on the matter, there's only one conclusion Jamie can come to.

"I'm sure," he assures Tyler, who gratifyingly gasps into the open mouthed kiss Jamie takes from him, eagerly dragging Jamie in even closer and letting himself be pressed up against the front door.

They probably would have spent the rest of the morning kissing in the entryway if they could have, but Jamie's a responsible business owner so, with reluctance, he presses one last kiss to Tyler's forehead and says, "I'll text you all the info. See you tonight?"

Tyler, rumpled and breathless, nods his head. "Yeah, yes. For sure."

"Okay," Jamie laughs. "See you."

"See you," Tyler replies with a little more focus.

Jamie leaves Tyler behind and starts the mad scramble home so he can change his clothes. If anyone came into work and noticed he was wearing the same outfit as yesterday, Jamie would never live it down. He'd have to sell his shop and his condo and buy a houseboat where he'd never have to worry about what he was wearing because everyone would think he was weird already.

He makes it to the shop just minutes before it's scheduled to open, which is technically late, but he hasn't missed any deliveries so it's still fine. Except when he unlocks the door he notices a light on in the back and he can hear someone moving around.

Matty has class this morning, so there's only one person it could be.

"Jor?" Jamie calls, and follows Jordie's call of, "Yeah, back here," to find his brother making two cups of tea in the small kitchenette.

He takes a sip from the cup Jordie hands him -- lots of milk with two sugars, just the way Jamie likes it -- and thanks him for it before asking, "Not that I don't want to see you, but what are you doing here?"

Jordie raises one eyebrow at him. Jamie panics that there's some super obvious reason for his brother to be there that he's completely forgotten about in his preoccupation with Tyler.

That's not it, though, Jamie's sure of it. "What?" Jamie demands. "Why are you giving me the Eyebrow of Judgement?"

"I went by your place last night," Jordie says. Jamie's stomach drops into his shoes. "You weren't home, but I ran into that neighbour of yours, the French one."

"Jordie -" Jamie tries, but his brother’s not done.

"He told me you were on a date, Jame. A date with a _boy_ , who you didn't _tell_ me about." Jordie puts down his cup of tea to cross his arms over his chest. It's not in anger, though, of course it isn't. Jamie's the hothead and Jenny's the stubborn one. Jordie's role growing up was always the peacemaker, though he never hesitated to lay out anyone hassling either of his siblings. 

No, Jordie's making himself smaller, hunching into himself. Even Jordie's beard looks sad, and Jamie feels guilty as hell.

"I just met him," Jamie tries. "Like, last week. I really like him but it's been kind of fast."

"Too fast?" Jordie asks, always the protective big brother. His expression changes though when he sees the smile that curves Jamie's mouth when he thinks about Tyler asking the same thing.

"Not too fast, just...not what I'm used to. You know me, I got weird about it."

Jordie does know him and nods understandingly.

"Speaking of fast," Jamie continues, "he's probably coming to the game tonight? I invited him, but we'll see what happens I guess."

Jordie looks surprised. "We get to meet him? Already? When you dated Luke you didn't bring him around for like, 3 months. And we _already knew him_."

Jamie rolls his eyes. "I was seventeen, asshole. He was my first boyfriend, I was nervous."

"Nervous," Jordie scoffs, shaking his head. "You'd known him for years, what the hell was there to be nervous about."

"We've talked about this," Jamie reminds him, annoyed. "I didn't really think you guys would be shitty about it, but I was still _afraid_ you would be. This is different, this isn't because he's a guy."

"You sure?" Jordie asks.

"It's because he's not like other people I've dated," Jamie argues. "He's really..." 

Jamie can't quite put his finger on what he's trying to get across, so lamely settles on, "He's just different, okay? Can you please drop it now?"

Jordie picks up his tea again, probably for the express purpose of hiding his mouth so he can appear inscrutable as he studies Jamie. Who, tired of the big brother treatment, rolls his eyes and thanks Jordie again for the tea before heading out front to unlock the shop.

He listens to the phone messages and takes notes, checks the calendar for the day's deliveries and appointments, and has started watering the plants in the window display when Jordie finally comes out, finished thinking about whatever he was about to say.

"I hope your guy comes to the game tonight," Jordie tells him. "I want to meet anyone who makes you look this happy. And can I text Jenny about it? You know she'll be mad if you spring him on her."

"Sure," Jamie agrees easily. Better Jordie than him, anyway. 

Jordie nods, claps him on the back and says, "Okay bud. See you later, then." He heads for the front door, but just as he's about to open it he turns and asks, "Oh, I forgot to ask, what's his name?"

"It’s Tyler," Jamie replies. Jordie nods again. 

"Tyler. Cool, we'll put that on the sign. See you later!"

"On the --? Hey wait!" Jamie yells, but Jordie's already gone. Jamie's got a hose thrown over his shoulder and a 10 pound vase in his arms so he can't go chasing after him. 

His brother is evil. Why does Jamie always forget that his brother is evil?

"Fuck, I've got to warn Tyler about this," Jamie sighs. He can only imagine what embarrassing shit his siblings are about to pull on him.

The bell above the door jingles again almost immediately, announcing the presence of Mister Gallagher, one of his regulars, there to purchase the weekly bouquet for his late wife's grave. He hasn't brought his girlfriend with him, so the cloying scent of magnolia perfume doesn't follow him in.

"Good morning, Mister Gallagher", Jamie calls. Mister Gallagher waves at Jamie with his cane in a 'go on and finish' gesture and makes his way over to peruse today’s selection.

When Jamie's finished replacing the potted rubber tree he joins Mister Gallagher at the fridge. "How do you feel about the pink carnations today," Jamie asks, drying his hands on his smock.

"They look much better than last week's," he tells Jamie frankly. Jamie agrees; last week he called to complain about the quality of the carnations he'd received and gave a discount to Mister Gallagher on the mixed flower bouquet he purchased instead.

"They sure do. The usual, then?"

"Yes please, and a single red rose as well. I’m in the dog house with Gwen." He sighs and explains, "Said her grandson's a pissant; she took it poorly."

"I can see why you may need to apologize," Jamie chuckles.

Mister Gallagher picks out a rose and Jamie takes everything to the counter to wrap for him. Money is exchanged for goods, and a liver-spotted hand pats his own. "I shouldn't have said what I thought about Gwen's grandson. You know me, I always say what I think. But maybe it's time to change, eh? We can't be the same person forever. That's a life lesson, I won't charge you for it."

"Gee, thanks," Jamie says, drily. "I agree with you, though. We've got to let love change us."

"Hm," Mister Gallagher ponders, "yes, let love change us. That's exactly it." He casts a shrewd eye over Jamie. "Maybe I'm the one getting a life lesson here." He pats Jamie's hand again. "You're a good man, Jamie. I hope you find a good man, too."

With that, Mister Gallagher leaves, off to Royal Oak to visit his wife, and Jamie's alone in his shop again. But things feel slightly less dire than they had before, and Jamie pulls out his phone to shoot Tyler a text warning him that his siblings may do something over the top to welcome him tonight and that there's still plenty of time to back out if he needs to, Jamie will understand. 

_**i'm still in if ur in**_ , Tyler replies.

_**All in, see you tonight.**_ (Sparkling Heart )

(Smiling Face With Heart-Shaped Eyes ) (Baseball ) (Growing Heart )

"I'm dating someone who communicates in emojis," Jamie whispers to himself, amused. "He’s so cute."

Jamie sighs, lets himself think about Tyler for another minute, then turns to his phone pad where he'd taken down all the messages. Jamie's got a lot to do today, so thoughts of Tyler -- and worries over Jordie and Jenny's revenge -- will have to wait until lunch. 

Then at five pm when the shop is closed, it will almost be time to see Tyler again, and soon after that he won't have to pine over Tyler anymore because Tyler will be with him, instead.

Jamie smiles and picks up the phone.


End file.
